Many types of bicycle racks have been devised to permit the transportation of one or more bicycles, typically on a car or van. The most familiar ones are supported on the rear deck, trunk, or door or on the roof, or even on a trailer hitch using various forms of straps, hooks and other devices for engaging parts of the vehicle.
However, when the vehicle is a recreational vehicle or "off-road" vehicle of the type having a spare tire externally mounted at the rear, a different problem is presented and the conventional rear-mounted carriers will not work. Additionally, many such vehicles have soft tops, precluding the use of a roof-mounted rack. While efforts have been made to devise a support rack to solve this problem, the results have not been particularly successful since they are not secure.
Additionally, none of the racks designed for supporting bicycles on vehicles are capable of providing a secure and convenient place for bicycle maintenance which may be required while in the kind of non-urban environment in which a cross-country bicycle or mountain bicycle is commonly used. Security is especially important because of the high prices of bicycles today.